Vanessa Medley reaches out to give her son,Terrell Johnson, a hug just moments after he was released from the Allegheny County Jail after serving 18 years. Johnson had been serving a life sentence for the 1994 murder of a Hazelwood woman, but Wednesday, a jury found him not guilty in a retrial.

TOP: Members of Allegheny County SWAT carry the casket of Allegheny County police Sgt. Perry Vahaly out of Thomas Jefferson High School after funeral services on Saturday afternoon. Vahaly, a 17-year veteran of the Allegheny County Police Department, was killed when his vehicle collided with a deer along Route 51 in Rostraver Township. MIDDLE: Clairton police Officer James Kuzak salutes as Sgt. Vahaly's flag-draped casket is brought out of Thomas Jefferson High School. BOTTOM: A police officer console a family member of Sgt. Vahaly.

Bill Lieberth, 56, the owner of Allegheny Auto Body along Route 28, has been battling an eminent domain case with PennDOT for more than three years. Lieberth recently fired the defense attorney who reached a settlement agreement with PennDOT on his behalf, claiming he never authorized it, but a judge is expected to decide by Monday whether to force Lieberth to accept the settlement and leave his property.

Lula Sweeney, 62, of Delmont is shocked to have her blood pressure taken by Dr. Mehmet Oz, two-time Emmy Award-winning host of the nationally syndicated The Dr. Oz Show, on Friday, Sept. 7, 2012. Dr. Oz gave the city of Pittsburgh a “15 Minute Physical” in partnership with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Alere, Inc. and Practice Fusion on Friday at the CONSOL Energy Center.

About Me

Justin Merriman, an award-winning photojournalist has spent more than a decade traveling the world to cover politics, wars, natural disasters and civil unrest. His work has appeared in leading national and international publications and he has received numerous top journalism awards. After covering the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – including the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville – Merriman committed to chronicling the U.S. military and its War on Terror. He has followed this story across the US and into the war zones of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. He also has covered life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 2002, India’s efforts to eradicate polio, the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, the 2013 conclave and election of Pope Francis in Rome, the second anniversary of Egypt's revolution and subsequent unrest, and most recently, Russia's invasion of Crimea and the international crisis that unfolded in Ukraine. Merriman lives in Oakmont with his fiancé, Stephanie Strasburg.